On Sunday morning, Dvir Adani was still in bed when his United Hatzalah radio alerted him to a call nearby. Adani hustled out of bed, ran outside, hopped on his ambucycle and sped to the address, arriving in mere minutes. Adani immediately recognized the address as the home of his friend and a fellow EMT. The two EMTs regularly shared shifts and headed out to calls in their neighborhood together, but this time it was different. Adani was responding to the call to help his friend.
When Adani entered the apartment he found his friend on the couch looking pale and weak. The second EMT was happy to see Adani’s friendly face and explained to Adani that he woke up feeling extremely nauseous and dizzy. “I’m barely able to walk out of the room,” the ill EMT said. Adani got right to work and obtained a full set of vitals. Seeing that his friend’s blood pressure was particularly low, Adani opened an IV line to begin fluid replacement therapy.
Over the next few minutes, his friend’s condition steadily improved and his nausea subsided. By the time the ambulance arrived, the man felt well enough to remain in his home. Before leaving the apartment, Adani told his friend that if he feels ill again, he should not hesitate to call. The EMT expressed his sincere gratitude to his friend, thanking him profusely for the help.
After the incident, Adani told us how much the incident moved him. “This case was certainly different for me than when I treat a regular person. I used the same professionalism that I do regularly, but this struck a chord with me as I never imagined that I would have to treat my friend and one of our own EMTs. I am always thankful for the skills and tools that I have to help others, but now I am doubly thankful. When one of your own goes down, whether it is illness or injury, it brings up certain feelings… call it overprotectiveness, call it a mutual commitment. I know that for years my fellow EMTs, especially those who are my close friends, have my back and they know that I have theirs. I am happy that I was able to be there for my friend and fellow EMT. I hope that no one will have to return that favor anytime soon.”
Founder and President of United Hatzalah Eli Beer, commented on the incident once he heard about it. “Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization. Their selfless need to help others has formed a network that enables us to provide country-wide EMS coverage. When one of our own is in need, we are there for them in whatever way we can be. We turn our network in on itself and focus on the collaborative brotherhood that we have created. Each of our 3,200 volunteers is always on call and especially to help one another. I am proud of Adani and all the volunteers like him who time and again are there for the people of Israel.”
